Ultrasonic oral cleaner

ABSTRACT

The ultrasonic oral cleaner has a head including an ultrasonic oscillator disposed inside a base provided with an operating portion, the base is made of a flexible material, and the base is provided with the operating portion made of the flexible material and having a smooth top surface as an ultrasonic emitting surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic oral cleaner including, at a tip thereof, an ultrasonic oscillator which transmits a vibration to user's tooth or gum edge to remove dental plaques, remove germs from a periodontal tissue, or prevent a periodontal disease, so that the cleaner is used to make an oral cavity clean.

BACKGROUND ART

Heretofore, an ultrasonic toothbrush has been known by which teeth are brushed with ultrasonic vibration energy, and such a toothbrush is disclosed in, for example, JP-T-7-509151 and the like.

In this ultrasonic toothbrush, an ultrasonic vibration emitted from an ultrasonic oscillator is transmitted to user's tooth part via saliva, a toothpaste and the like stuck to brush bristles and around the brush bristles, to perform a tooth-brushing function such as decomposition cleaning of plaque germs or massaging of a gum edge. Especially in these days, it has been known that the ultrasonic vibration with a specific frequency has a bactericidal effect against oral bacteria such as periodontal disease viruses, and the toothbrush has also been used for oral cleaning.

However, in the above conventional ultrasonic toothbrush, the ultrasonic vibration is efficiently transmitted in water, but an ultrasonic transmission efficiency of the brush bristles made of thin and soft bristles is remarkably lower than that in water. Moreover, during teeth brushing, the saliva, toothpaste and the like stuck to the brush bristles are effective for the ultrasonic transmission, but bubbles, powder and the like are included, whereby the ultrasonic transmission efficiency is lower than that in water. Moreover, an ultrasonic vibration emitted from the vicinity of the side surface of a base member around the planted brush bristles is stronger than an ultrasonic vibration of a brush bristle part sometimes, which is taken into consideration to limit a strength of an ultrasonic output emitted from an ultrasonic oscillator to a strength which does not exceed a safety standard so that a living tissue of an oral cavity is not adversely affected. That is, the ultrasonic vibration emitted from the ultrasonic oscillator to the brush bristles considerably decays at the tips of the brush bristles in the oral cavity while the teeth are brushed, whereby a tooth-brushing effect by the ultrasonic vibration is also suppressed. Strengthening of the ultrasonic output to compensate for this decay causes a safety problem of the living tissue, and for the purpose of enhancing an oral cleaning performance, it has been remarkably important to improve a transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic vibration through the brush bristle part.

Therefore, as a countermeasure to easily transmit ultrasonic waves, JP-A-2004-148079, JP-A-2005-66024 or the like discloses a brush head in which projections made of a flexible material such as a rubber material are arranged on a base disposed at a position facing an ultrasonic vibration surface of an ultrasonic oscillator, and around this projection group, brush bristles are planted, whereby an ultrasonic vibration is efficiently transmitted to a tooth part via the projection group made of the flexible material, thereby enhancing the tooth-brushing performance.

However, in an ultrasonic toothbrush comprising the brush head including the projections made of a flexible material such as the rubber material and arranged on the base, and including the brush bristles planted around this projection group, the brush bristles arranged around the projection group disturb contact between the brush bristles and a tooth or gum edge, and hence the ultrasonic waves cannot sufficiently be transmitted. Since the brush bristles need to be planted around the projections, manufacturing steps become complicated, and manufacturing cost disadvantageously rises.

On the other hand, as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2006-239368, there is suggested an oral cavity hygienic apparatus having a mouthpiece-like shape, but the apparatus becomes complicated, and needs to be regulated in accordance with a user, and it cannot easily be considered that the apparatus is simple means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The present invention has been developed to solve the above problem of a conventional ultrasonic toothbrush, and an object thereof is to provide an ultrasonic oral cleaner which can, needless to say, sufficiently apply an ultrasonic vibration to a tooth or gum edge and which can be simply manufactured and inexpensively provided.

Means for Solving the Problems

According to the present invention developed to solve the above problem, there is provided an ultrasonic oral cleaner comprising a head including an ultrasonic oscillator disposed inside a base, characterized in that the base is made of a flexible material, and the base is provided with an operating portion having a smooth top surface as an ultrasonic emitting surface and made of the flexible material.

Moreover, in the present invention, when an internal surface of the base is provided with a projecting portion so that the ultrasonic oscillator exposed in a space of the head is satisfactorily closely attached to the internal surface of the base, an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic oscillator is securely transmitted to the base.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when the ultrasonic emitting surface of the operating portion is inwardly or outwardly bent, the operating portion easily abuts on a tooth or gum edge. When the operating portion is formed on a cover member attached around the periphery of the head provided with the ultrasonic oscillator, not only manufacturing but also replacing are easily performed. Furthermore, when the operating portion and the base are integrally formed, the manufacturing is easily performed, and the ultrasonic wave is satisfactorily transmitted.

In addition, when inside the base of the head, an ultrasonic oscillator for the operating portion and an ultrasonic oscillator for brush bristles are arranged, respectively, ultrasonic waves having sufficient strengths can be supplied. Moreover, when the ultrasonic oscillator for the operating portion and the ultrasonic oscillator for the brush bristles can emit the ultrasonic waves having different frequencies, respectively, it is possible to emit the ultrasonic waves having the frequencies in accordance with purposes, respectively.

Effect of the Invention

According to the present invention, needless to say, an ultrasonic vibration can sufficiently be applied to a tooth or gum edge, and manufacturing is easily performed, whereby manufacturing cost can be decreased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a front view of a preferable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B shows a side view of a preferable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is an exploded view showing a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 2B is an assembly view showing a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section partial view showing the main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view cut along the A-A line of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing a state before assembling the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view cut along the B-B line of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view showing still another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged section partial view in a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged section partial view showing a main part of a further embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the present invention, FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show a preferable mode for carrying out the present invention concerning an ultrasonic oral cleaner of a type comprising a handle main body 1 in which an ultrasonic generation device (not shown) is disposed, and a head 3 including an operating portion 2 and replaceably fitted into a tip of the handle main body 1.

In the handle main body 1, a heretofore well known ultrasonic generation device such as a battery power source or an ultrasonic generation circuit is disposed, and an inserting portion 11 formed at the tip of the main body is provided with an ultrasonic oscillator 12 which vibrates by an ultrasonic signal output from the above ultrasonic generation device.

On the other hand, the head 3 replaceably inserted into the handle main body 1 of the present embodiment has a bottom surface provided with a space 31 into which the inserting portion 11 is inserted, and a base 33 integrally formed with the external operating portion 2 is disposed in an opening 34 in which an ultrasonic oscillator 12 part of the inserting portion 11 inserted as described above is exposed. Therefore, the ultrasonic oscillator 12 part of the inserting portion 11 directly comes in contact with the base 33 (the operating portion 2), whereby a vibration is securely transmitted. Moreover, since the operating portion 2 is formed integrally with the base 33, manufacturing is easily performed, and the operating portion has an excellent resistance. Furthermore, an ultrasonic wave is continuously transmitted from the base 33 to the operating portion 2.

Additionally, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an internal surface of the base 33 is provided with a projecting portion 35 so that the ultrasonic oscillator 12 exposed in the opening 34 of the base 33 of the head 3 is satisfactorily closely attached to the internal surface of the base, whereby the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic oscillator is securely transmitted to the base.

In the present embodiment, the base 33 and the operating portion 2 are made of a rubber material having an elasticity, for example, silicone rubber, elastomer or the like.

Moreover, the operating portion 2 has the surface as an ultrasonic emitting surface 21 which is not flat. When at least a part of the surface is inwardly and/or outwardly (not shown) bent, the operating portion easily abuts on a tooth or gum edge. However, when the surface is at least a smooth surface, the operating portion is formed so that a width H of the narrowest portion is an integral multiple of an ultrasonic wavelength λ emitted from the ultrasonic oscillator 12 and a height L is an integral multiple of the same ultrasonic wavelength λ, whereby the ultrasonic wave can satisfactorily be emitted in a width direction and a forward-backward direction.

Furthermore, the flexible material to form the operating portion 2 preferably has a hardness of about 30 degrees to 70 degrees. If the hardness is 70 degrees or more, the gum edge is damaged. If the hardness is 30 degrees or less, a dental plaque removing effect deteriorates.

Additionally, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the projecting portion 35 having, for example, a circular section is disposed so as to satisfactorily closely attach, to the internal surface of the base 33, the ultrasonic oscillator 12 exposed in the opening 34 of the base 33 in the head 3, the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic oscillator 12 is securely transmitted to the base 33.

In the present embodiment, a switch 13 disposed in the handle main body 1 is turned on so that the ultrasonic oscillator 12 vibrates at a predetermined frequency by the ultrasonic signal output from the ultrasonic generation device (not shown) disposed in the main body, whereby the vibration is propagated to the operating portion 2. Therefore, the ultrasonic emitting surface 21 which is the surface of the operating portion 2 is allowed to abut on the surface of the tooth or gum edge, whereby the ultrasonic vibration is propagated from the ultrasonic emitting surface 21 to the surface of the tooth or gum edge, thereby performing removal of dental plaques, disinfection to remove a periodontal disease virus or the like (not shown).

At this time, in the present embodiment, the operating portion 2 does not include any conventional brush part, and the ultrasonic emitting surface 21 which is the surface of the operating portion is smooth, whereby the operating portion 2 comes in contact with the tooth surface or the gum edge directly and with a large contact area. In consequence, a sufficient amount of the ultrasonic wave is securely transmitted to the tooth surface or the gum edge.

FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 show another embodiment of the present invention. A main constitution including a head 3, an ultrasonic oscillator 12 and the like is substantially similar to that of the above embodiment, but is different in that an opening 35 of a bottom portion of the operating portion 2 removably attached to the head 3 provided with the ultrasonic oscillator 12 is used as detaching/attaching means and the opening is formed integrally with a base 33 having a cover member shape and made of a flexible material similar to that of the above embodiment.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the base 33 provided with the operating portion 2 is detachably attached as a cover-like member, the base 33 (the operating portion 2) can easily be replaced, which is not only economical but also hygienically excellent.

Moreover, also in the present embodiment, the internal surface of the base 33 is provided with an inverse circular projecting portion 35 so that the ultrasonic oscillator 12 exposed in a space of the head 3 is satisfactorily closely attached to the internal surface of the base. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a portion of the head 3 to which the base 33 is attached is provided with projections 36 and 36. Therefore, when the base 33 is attached, the base 33 expands to engage with the projections 36 and 36, and hence there is not any danger that the base comes off while used.

FIG. 8 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. An operating portion 2 and the like have a constitution substantially similar to that of the above embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, but the constitution is different in that as shown in FIG. 9, a brush part 4 is planted on a side of the head 3 where the ultrasonic oscillator 12 is sandwiched.

As shown in FIG. 8, for example, one ultrasonic oscillator 12 is sandwiched, and the brush part 4 is planted on an opposite side, which enables not only transmission of an ultrasonic wave by the operating portion 2 but also teeth brushing by use of the brush part 4.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the one ultrasonic oscillator 12 emits ultrasonic waves from the operating portion 2 and the brush part 4. In either case, the ultrasonic waves having the same frequency may be emitted, but the switch 13 disposed in the handle main body 1 is operated to switch and use a frequency preset in accordance with a use application of the operating portion 2 or the brush part 4 (e.g., a periodontal treatment, tooth surface cleaning or the like), whereby excellent effects can be produced, respectively.

Furthermore, FIG. 10 shows a further embodiment with respect to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. An operating portion 2 and a brush part 4 are provided with appropriate ultrasonic oscillators 12 and 13, respectively. When the ultrasonic oscillators 12 and 13 are simultaneously or individually driven, the operating portion 2 and the brush part 4 can be used for the corresponding purpose. 

1. An ultrasonic oral cleaner comprising a head including an ultrasonic oscillator disposed inside a base, wherein the base is made of a flexible material, and the base is provided with an operating portion having a smooth top surface as an ultrasonic emitting surface and made of the flexible material.
 2. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein an internal surface of the base is provided with a projecting portion so that the ultrasonic oscillator exposed in a space of the head is satisfactorily closely attached to the internal surface of the base.
 3. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic emitting surface of the operating portion is inwardly or outwardly bent.
 4. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the operating portion is formed on the base which is a cover member removably attached to the head provided with the ultrasonic oscillator.
 5. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein brush bristles are arranged on the back surface of the operating portion of the head.
 6. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein brush bristles are arranged on the back surface of the operating portion of the head, and inside the base of the head, an ultrasonic oscillator for the operating portion and an ultrasonic oscillator for the brush bristles are arranged, respectively.
 7. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein brush bristles are arranged on the back surface of the operating portion of the head, inside the base of the head, an ultrasonic oscillator for the operating portion and an ultrasonic oscillator for the brush bristles are arranged, respectively, and the ultrasonic oscillator for the operating portion and the ultrasonic oscillator for the brush bristles are configured to emit ultrasonic waves having different frequencies, respectively.
 8. The ultrasonic oral cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the operating portion is formed integrally with the base. 